Following the Wolf
by A. Potter
Summary: A fic about Saito and Tokio, a look into the life of the Wolf.
1. Default Chapter

"Tokio-san!" Someone screamed, and Saito blinked, drawing back his  
sword. The man that this woman had saved got up, and, to his  
surprise, spat in the fallen woman's face.  
  
"I didn't need your help!" The woman reached up with the last bit of  
her energy and wiped off the spit, arm falling to her side again. Her  
eyes remained closed. Saito closed his eyes, then opened them.  
Everyone had run off- obviously this woman had no one to take care  
of her. And since, even though she had jumped in his way of killing  
someone, if he didn't help her, she would die, and it would be his  
fault. He bent down over her to pick her up, and her eyes opened,  
pain flooding them from the pierce in her side.  
  
"Please... I'm hurt... Don't take my honor away as well..."   
  
"I'm not. I'm going to help you. Do you have a family?"  
  
"No... They left me behind." He picked her up. Her hand reached up  
and carefully touched his cheek. "I am Tokio."  
  
"Saito." Her eyes slid shut gracefully, and he hurried down the street,  
not wanting to be attacked by one of those who wouldn't mind  
killing her as well as him.  
  
Tokio woke again in a nice room in a place she didn't know. It took  
her a moment, but then she remembered what happened. She had  
protected a man she didn't even know, who spat on her face... And  
then she was saved by that man, Saito. Noticing her side had been  
bandaged, she got up and got dressed in a pure white kimono, laced  
with gold. Just as she finished changing, Saito opened the door.  
  
"Saito." She said, turning to face him. His face revealed nothing.  
  
"Are you all right?" He asked after a considereable silence. She turned  
away from him.  
  
"I thank you for your concern. I am healing. My thanks to whomever  
bandaged my wound." She turned again and took a step forward to  
the table next to him, where her hair ribbon laid. He scooped it up  
silently, and handed to her. She nodded her thanks. Carefully, she tied  
her raven-hair back.  
  
"Tokio-san. I'd like to know why you protected that man." All was  
quiet again, until she replied.  
  
"I couldn't watch him die. He was no one special, at least not to me.  
But I couldn't watch him die. I don't know why. I've seen people die  
before."  
  
"What will you do now?" Her face hardened.  
  
"I have no idea. I'll go out the streets again, I suppose. What happens  
to me doesn't matter." She met his eyes, the look in her eyes turned  
him to stone, practically. "I can offer services." He coughed lightly.  
  
"No, I've made my decision. You will stay with me for awhile. If you  
don't mind people dying every once in a while. I'm sorry, but that's  
what I do."  
  
"Tell me when you feel sorry about it." She closed her eyes, and  
sniffed a little. "That's right. You smell of blood. Other men's blood.  
Of many men." He didn't ask how she knew.  
  
"Can you heal?"  
  
"Yes, I learned how-" Her face turned unreadable again. "Over the  
years." He blinked. Most women wouldd be crying right now if they  
went through this conversation. "Where are we? Is this your house?"  
  
"I own it from when my Father and Mother died in a fire. This was  
their second house. I rarely visit it, but I needed to put you  
somewhere. Somewhere my enemies didn't know about." Tokio  
walked past him out the door, walking down the hall and down the  
stairs. He followed.  
  
A few minutes later, he was sitting down to a nice breakfast. She sat  
across from him, eating, not making eye contact. He didn't stop  
glancing at her throughout the meal.  
  
"You looked a little thin. I couldn't have you starving to death during  
a battle. Today I will go out to buy food, and your group can come  
to eat."  
  
"You don't mind if the group comes? It's not exactly a tiny group."  
  
"I've cooked for 200 people before, if it makes you feel better. If  
they're all as thin as you, they'll need it. I have money enough to  
keep in that much food for a long time. I came from a rich family. All  
my family is dead except for me, and so I got all the money, the  
estate, which I sold when I went to live with my Grandfather. My  
Grandfather has the money. I'll get it all today, as well." He got up.  
  
"I'd better be going. If you can heal, we'll come to you to heal the  
group when we need it."  
  
"Of course." She followed him to the door, and he walked outside.  
He stopped as he still felt her presence by the door.  
  
"Have a nice day," Saito said awkwardly. She smiled.  
  
"Be careful, Saito." Tokio slid the door shut. He walked off down the  
road.  
  
Tokio cleared off the table and went into the kitchen area. It was  
really a very splendid house, with a resturaunt-style indoor kitchen  
and big rooms. First, she swept out the entire house, which took  
awhile. Finally, after scubbing EVERYTHING, she went out to buy the  
food.  
  
"Hajime Saito. You're late this morning." The leader of today's  
meeting piped up.  
  
"I'm sorry. I'm supposed to deliver this message- everyone is invited  
to dinner at my Mother's house." Silence fell.  
  
"What?" Someone asked, "You're not cooking, are you??" He  
scowled.  
  
"Of course not. I saved a woman's life last night. She's staying with  
me until she recovers. She volunteered to heal and cook for the  
group, whenever needed. I assume wives are invited as well." He sat  
down. "Now, as you were saying. Who's next on the list?"  
  
That night, the entire group was waiting around the huge table Tokio  
had borrowed from the next-door neighbor. They chatted idly until  
Tokio came in, holding a tray laden with food. She set it in front of  
the first person, and brought out a tray for each person. Reaching  
Saito last, she put his tray down in front of him, and put a hand on  
his shoulder. He looked up and she looked down at him, and he  
knew something went wrong that day. He noticed for the first time as  
she walked back to the kitchen that she was limping slightly. Finally,  
at the door, he saw her trip over her own feet, and for a second, the  
Kimono flew up just a little.  
  
He saw dried blood on her ankle, and a cut running up her leg, until  
the kimono flew back down again. No one else noticed. She  
disappeared into the kitchen, and Saito waited for as long as he could  
until he excused himself.  
  
"Just a moment. I will be back shortly." He got up as everyone  
resumed conversation over the food and went to the kitchen.  
  
Tokio's face was stone blank as she stared at the wall where she ate  
her own tray of food. She stood, putting the rice she was eating  
down, and faced him.  
  
"What happened today?" He asked quietly, making sure the door was  
shut firmly behind him. She looked down.  
  
"Nothing." She whispered. He walked briskly over and put his hands  
on her shoulders. She slowly met his eyes.  
  
"What happened to your leg, then?" Tokio went quiet.  
  
"It got snagged as I pulled myself up onto a roof." She said at last.  
  
"And why were you pulling yourself up onto a roof?"  
  
"A man was following me. The same man I saved last night. He was  
eyeing me and kept putting his hand on his sword as if to draw it."  
For the first time, he saw tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm too weak.  
I'm just a bother to you. I should go back out onto the street again.  
You can't spend all this time protecting me..." Tokio looked down  
again.  
  
"Tokio-san, look at me." She didn't, "Tokio! Look at me!" Finally she  
looked up. "I won't let that man- or anyone else- hurt you. That is my  
promise, it has nothing to do with what you do or who you are."  
  
"Thank you, Saito." She replied, "You will be missed if you stay in  
here any longer. We will discuss this after dinner. Go!" She seemed to  
have recovered a little, and pointed toward the kitchen door. He  
reached down and grabbed food tray.  
  
"You'll come out and eat with us. There's no sense in you sitting out  
here by yourself." Not complaining, she followed. The rest of the  
dinner past without event.  
  
Some of the wives who attended helped Tokio clean up after the  
dinner, and she put everything away after they left. Finally, after  
everything was spotless, she sat down, exhausted. Saito came out of  
his room with a shawl-like cloth.  
  
"This was my sister's. Wear it to keep from getting cold." He draped it  
around her shoulders. It was red, with white flowers.  
  
"I didn't know where you kept the bandages, so I just left it. I also got  
busy." She explained as he examined her leg and ankle. He nodded as  
he cleaned off the dried blood. Tokio didn't even flinch.  
  
"It is always kept in the box in the closet in my room. I hope you  
won't need to get it very often, for all our sakes, but you are welcome  
to go in there and get it whenever you need it."  
  
"Yes, Saito." He smiled a little at the discussion he'd had with some of  
the wives of his friends that past evening.  
  
"Some of the women here this evening have decided they're going to  
do dinners like this every once in a while. They've decided once every  
month, and will most likely send you a schedule." She smiled, and he  
finished bandaging her ankle.  
  
"That sounds wonderful." He gave her his hand and helped her up.  
  
"You should be going to bed now. You are still too weak to be up  
very late."  
  
Over the next few days, Saito noticed that Tokio's presence in the  
house felt so- right. After awhile it became automatic, and he didn't  
notice it sticking out anymore.  
  
Every morning they would eat breakfast together as the dawn began  
to shine in the sky. Then they had the same goodbyes as they did at  
the first day at the door. One night, however, something different  
happened.  
  
Tokio opened her eyes that night to noises downstairs. Quetly, she  
got up and out of bed, still in her white sleeping outfit. She crept  
downstairs, hair falling about her eyes. She brushed it back with an  
uninterested hand.  
  
Saito and another man from the Shinsengumi were downstairs, talking  
urgently. Saito was moving around getteing ready to go out.  
  
"We've got to hurry," he began, not seeing Tokio, "If we don't, it  
may be too late."  
  
"Saito?" She asked cautiously. Both men stopped talking- the new man  
looked away, Saito looked right at her. Tokio smiled a little, to show  
she was all right. "Where are you going?" She knew her voice  
sounded somewhat shaky, but she couldn't help it.  
  
"I'm going out. Some of the members of the group have gotten into  
trouble. I will most likely be back be morning." He turned. "Come on,  
let's go." They went out, she followed him to the door. They started  
walking down the street.  
  
"Saito?" Tokio called, and he turned. "Be careful!" He smiled a little.  
  
"Good night, Tokio." They continued down the road.  
  
The first rays shone through the sky when they brought Saito back.  
Tokio heard them coming down the road and got up, hair falling over  
her shoulder. She went and asnwered the door. When she saw him,  
she just stood there, saying nothing. Tears were in her eyes.  
  
He still stood, refusing to give up. Knowing him, it was his first injuries  
in a while. He just looked at her, holding his hand over a cut in his  
legs, right across the knees. A gash crossed his cheek as well, and on  
the back of his hand. Tokio carefully helped him in, getting blood all  
over the white kimono she had changed into after he left. Looking  
over the other group, everyone seemed unharmed. She went and got  
the bandages, talking as she worked.  
  
"What happened here?" Someone gave her a bowl of water. "Well?  
Explain how he got like this." Saito said nothing, and another man  
knelt down next to her to help.  
  
"He took an opponent on alone. We had no idea where he went,  
until he showed up like this and told us the story. He killed the enemy  
who was trying to expose our identities to his masters, however.  
Please don't be too angry with him." Tokio shook her head.  
"I'm not angry with Saito." She replied, "That's what he does." They  
finished bandaging him, and everyone filtered out, to go back home.  
Tokio thanked everyone a lot for bringing him home, and shut the  
front door. Then she traveled up to Saito's room, where he was.  
  
She opened the door and shut it again, to find him up, standing in  
front of a window. The bustling of the world came through the  
window.  
  
"Why did you fight him yourself?"  
  
"He injured three who tried. They got out, and went to another  
wife's house."  
  
"It was very stupid of you." He smiled crookedly.  
  
"I suppose it was." She walked over to him.  
  
"I'm fine, by the way. I didn't even cry." She smiled a little back at  
him at the little joke. They stood in silence for a minute, she looked at  
the floor, he looked at her face. "I almost did, though." She admitted  
at last. When he looked up at him, there were tears in her eyes,  
probably ones she had hidden from the last night.  
  
Without a word, he put his arms around her, surprised a bit at  
himself. She began to cry silently. For awhile, they simply stood there.  
  
"Are you all right now?" He asked finally, not letting go of her.  
  
"If this happens all the time, if I cry every time you come home  
injured, you'll get tired of it. But I don't think it will happen again.  
My crying, I mean. It's just-"  
  
"Yes?" She looked up at him.  
  
"You helped me, so much. And seeing you hurt... It touched  
something inside me..." They broke apart. "You'll be needing  
something to eat, won't you, Saito? I'll go fix something." He  
watched her go.  
  
"Of course." He said.  
  
They ate breakfast together, and Saito realized he probably should  
take a break to heal. However, he decided, the revolution wasn't just  
going to wait for him to feel better before resuming. So he picked up  
his weapon and walked to the door, just as someone knocked. Saito  
opened it cautiously, to find a little boy obviously no more than  
eleven years old standing in front of the door.  
  
"Excuse me, sir, is Tokio-san home?" Saito stared at him.  
  
"Why do you want Tokio?"  
  
"I- I have a message for her. The Master has passed away." Saito  
turned and called out.  
  
"Tokio! There's someone here for you!" She came down the stairs,  
confused. Finally, she saw the little boy.  
  
"Saru!" She said, suprised. "What are you doing here? Grandfather  
needs you, I'm sure!" The boy had visible tears in his eyes. "Saru? Is  
everything all right?" The little boy shook his head.  
  
"The Master has died." He said. "Everyone wants you to come  
quickly." Tokio fell to a kneeling position on the floor in shock.  
  
"Grandfather?" She whispered. "No..." She got up again, swallowing.  
"Take me there immediately." She turned to Saito. "I'll be back as  
soon as I can... Don't wait for me. I have no idea how long it will  
be..." She trailed off, looking at Saru.  
  
"Yes, ma'am?" Tokio walked over to him, gently touching his ear.   
  
"You know Grandfather would never accept your pierced ear. You  
respected him well enough. Why did you get it?" The boy looked  
uncomfortable, but said nothing. Tokio turned to Saito, putting a  
hand on his shoulder.  
  
"I'll be back as soon as I can." She said again, but just like that night at  
the dinner, there was something unreadable in her dark eyes.  
  
"Of course. I'm sorry to hear of your loss." The boy and woman  
walked out, and Saito stood there for a minute, trying to figure out  
what she meant this time by that 'look.'  
  
On the eve of the third day, Tokio had not returned home, and Saito  
was beginning to be a little worried. Of course, things like this  
probably would call her away, but knowing Tokio, she would  
probably send a message home every other day. After sitting alone at  
the table for awhile, Saito cleared his head of all the thoughts saying  
he was crazy and walked right out the door.  
  
The estate was huge, and filled with the strange bustle. He wondered  
why servants chatted happily as they hung clothing out to dry, or  
took care of the garden. A very round woman wearing a brown dress  
and a white scarf came up to him.  
  
"Oh, you're one of the police!" Taking note of the outfit he wore,  
which looked so alike to most people to the uniforms of the police,  
most people thought he was one. It didn't matter. "Have you come  
about Saru? Did you find him?" Saito almost looked at her like she  
was crazy, but kept his feelings hidden.  
  
"I need to speak to the owner of this estate immediately." Her open  
mouth closed, and she nodded slowly.  
  
"Of course. Follow me please." Now Saito was very confused. It  
could be possible that someone else was actually in charge of the  
estate, but for some reason, he felt it was getting too suspicious.  
"Right through that door, sir. Have a nice day." Saito and the maid  
had arrived at a door into a large room. She disappeared and he  
pushed it open.  
  
"Hello, hello! You're not of the police, but I can trust you! Do come  
in!" Saito was faced with a jolly old man, who bore resemblance of  
Tokio, except his hair was white and he had wrinkles all over. The  
eyes remained the same.  
  
"Are you Tokio's grandfather?" The man laughed. "Why of course!  
Tokio... I haven't heard from her since she came to get the money  
awhile ago. How is she?"  
  
"A boy by the name of Saru came to our house," he wondered for a  
minute how the man would take the 'our', "And told us that you had  
passed away."  
  
"I know Saru. He's a kitchen boy. Didn't like how he's changed the  
past while. Got his ear pierced, always late... He used to be such a  
good boy. I fired him three or four days ago. And do I look dead to  
you?"  
  
"Tokio was supposed to come straight to this house with the boy,  
Saru."  
  
"And why are you so worried? Who are you? I don't believe I've  
heard much about you, other than what Tokio's told me."  
  
"I am Hajime Saito. Tokio and I- She saved the life of a stranger who-  
who was about to be killed in the street. I saw her get hurt from a  
sword, and I took her in. She currently lives with me. You must excuse  
us, I didn't want her to follow out her plan of living on the streets."  
  
"Oh, my little Tokio has lived out on the streets for awhile now. She  
refuses to be a burden to me. I told her to move in, so I didn't have  
to worry that she'd be- offering service- if you you know what I  
mean. She refused, saying she was smarter and stronger than that. I,  
for one, believed her."  
  
"Now she's disappeared."  
  
  
"Yes, we're going to have to do something about that, aren't we?"  
  
"So you're not dead, Saru is some kind of traitor with a  
dragon-shaped earring in his left ear... You fired him... This is most  
likely a plot for revenge. That still leaves where they took Tokio."  
  
"My guess is that Tokio's immediate family has something to do with  
this." Saito stared.  
  
"What? She said they left her behind... I just assumed they died." The  
old man laughed.  
  
"Tokio's family, dead? Her Father, perhaps. Her father was a good  
man. Shame, he died of an unknown disease when she was just a little  
girl. Her mother, three brothers, and sister buried him, and while  
Tokio was crying at the grave of her Father one beautiful spring day,  
they left her there. Tokio was brought in from a previous marriage,  
where her first mother died, along with four very caring elder  
brothers. I am her father's father."   
  
"If they left her, why do they want her back?"  
  
"A very prominent family in Tokyo expressed an interest in marrying  
her to their son when Tokio was just a little girl to her Father. I  
believe the remaining family has just found out the plans being  
formed. Of course, her Father never treated it very seriously."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Tokio didn't like the boy. Just at their small age, he attempted to  
rape her. She ended up hurting him badly, and the family returned  
home in disgrace."  
  
"I don't wish for your granddaughter to be married to this man,"  
Saito decided, choosing his words carefully. "If he tried to hurt her in  
the past."  
  
"I don't either, and I have learned now that even faced with death,  
Tokio won't do anything she doesn't want to. She's a very  
strong-willed person." The old man sighed, and looked away, "I'm  
only afraid that somehow she's going to be pulled into that marriage,  
and her will shall end up killing her. Too many young men in the  
world today are too dominant when it comes to most women. If you  
don't mind my saying so, they don't give them any space, or let them  
be independant, or let them make their own decisions, or have any  
input on the decisions at hand."   
  
"From what I know of Tokio, even if she is the only woman in the  
world who feels that way, she won't let anyone walk all over her."  
  
"Now, however, is not the time for so much chatter, don't you agree?  
This old body has plenty of energy in it, believe me! We must make  
up a plan to save Tokio!" Saito nodded in agreement, when someone  
knocked on the door. The old man shouted. "Come in!" A woman,  
thin and pale, wearing the same kind of brown dress as the first  
woman, came in a little way. Saito noticed the lobe of her left ear was   
in shreds that had begun to heal.  
  
"Excuse me, sir."  
  
"Listening in, Kari, as usual. What do you need? I'll excuse you, well,  
if you have an excuse."  
  
"I was listening in, sir, no denying it. However, I know some  
information that may be helpful to this young man." Saito looked at  
her and realized for the first time how old the woman actually was.  
She looked back at him. "I love Tokio as if she were my own blood. It  
often feels like she is, sometimes. I can sense sharp minds. I know  
you've already gotten that I used to wear the same earring that Saru  
does now in my younger days. I know," she paused for emphasis,  
"where they might possibly be hiding Tokio." Silence hung for a  
minute.  
  
"Where?" Saito finally asked. She gave him a very accurate description  
of a cave outside of town, in a cliff in a woods. "Thank you."  
Tokio looked up slowly at the man who stood in front of her. It was  
the man from before, she knew. The one who she had saved the night  
she had first met Saito.  
  
"Tokio! Look at me!" The man said fiercely. Tokio remembered Saito,  
and how he said that exact same thing when he promised to protect  
her.  
  
"What?" She asked irritably. He grabbed her jaw and made her look  
at him.  
  
"I am your brother!"  
  
"No, you're not! My four brothers were much nicer than you! Even  
when I was little, they would protect me! And furthermore- They all  
died in a fire with my Mother!" The man looked confused.  
  
"There are only three! You only have three brothers!"  
  
"You're my step-brother, then! Do you ever remember mother  
carrying me?"  
  
"I was younger then! And you should've forgotten about your old  
family when you got your new, better one!" He yelled.  
  
"Never!" She screamed, and spat in his face. He yelled and wiped it  
off.  
  
"You're going to hear it from Mother now. Maybe if your lucky,  
you'll hear it from Saiji, as well." He turned around and walked off.  
Tokio slumped in defeat, trying hard to stand tall again. Her hands  
and feet were tied, and she was being forced to stand all day. It had  
been three days. Saito had not come. She wondered if he had gotten  
hurt. Maybe he forgot about her in his busy life, or didn't care she  
had disappeared? Something told her to trust Saito better than that.  
  
"Tokio! Are you listening?!" Her mother now stood before her, and  
Tokio had no idea that she had been lecturing.  
"Of course, Mother."  
  
"You'd better shape up if you want us to get lots and lots of money!"  
It obviously hadn't occured to her stepmother that she didn't WANT  
them to get lots and lots of money. How much is a lot, anyway? She  
asked herself.  
  
"Ahhhhh!" Someone yelled in the distance, toward the entrance of the  
cave. Her mother turned around.  
  
"Tokio! Are you here! Answer me!" Someone shouted up ahead as  
well, but from that far away, she couldn't recognize the voice.  
  
"Tokio!" Her stepmother hissed, "Don't you dare say anything!"  
  
"Tokio! Are you here? Are you all right?" Tokio stood silent,  
wondering who it was. She could yell back, her mother didn't really  
matter, but if it was her supposed future husband, she would be stuck.  
She watched the entrance to this section of the cavern with unease.  
The opening to this part of the cavern was a little hole in the wall.  
The person would have to cross a rickety rope and plank bridge over  
a huge crack in the floor in order to reach her.  
  
"Tokio, don't say anything!" Her stepmother instructed again. She  
called out loud, "Saiji, is that you?" There was no answer, but now  
they could both hear the faint clank of swords. That told Tokio it  
wasn't her supposed husband-to-be.  
  
"TOKIO! I promised I wouldn't let anyone hurt you! Are you still all  
right?" Disregarding her mother, she shouted back.  
  
"Saito? Saito! Is that you?"  
  
"Tokio!" Saito appeared at the hole in the wall.  
  
"Don't you dare move, stranger, or I will kill Tokio!" Tokio snapped  
her head to look at her mother, who held a bow which was strung,  
aiming right at her daughter's heart. At this range, she couldn't miss.  
"Tokio." A new, clearly male voice said right behind her. "I believe I  
should now tell you that I have been watching you during this whole  
thing for quite a while now. However, I believe that unless I step in,  
we will never be wed." She turned her head to see Saiji, who she had  
seen earlier. His hair was not tied back, but hung to his shoulders, a  
limp brown.  
  
"Saiji!"  
  
"My dear Tokio. I can see it now." Saiji's green eyes took on a  
dreamy look, "I can see that we will never be able to live in peace..."  
  
What? Tokio asked herself wildly, Is he just letting me go?  
  
"Not in life, anyway." He continued. "Therefore, we shall resort to  
plan B. As we hold hands, we will both jump into the canyon in front  
us. Then we shall be together, my love. Forever." He picked her up,  
still bound, and brought her over to the side.  
  
"Saiji, no! Don't do this!" She screamed. She looked toward her  
mother who did nothing, and then toward Saito. He had turned pale,  
obviously not knowing what to do. Or so it seemed to her.  
  
The next thing that happened, happened in split-second timing. Saiji,  
still holding her, stepped off the side. Saito took a running jump and  
cleared the gap, reaching down on his way by, grabbing Tokio.  
  
"Nooooo!" Screamed Saiji as he fell, down, down, down into  
darkness. At that, Tokio's mother snapped out of it and loosed an  
arrow at Saito. It hit him in the side, lodging there, but he paid no  
attention. Instead, he curled himself around Tokio, letting his body  
absorb the impact of the other ledge. They rolled, and he pushed her  
aside and got up, drawing his sword. Tokio's mother turned pale.  
  
"Please, don't- don't hurt me!" She pleaded, taking one step back,  
then another, as he advanced on her. "It was all a joke, a..."  
  
"I'm not going to hurt you," he said, menacingly, "The only one  
who's going to hurt you is your own self!" By the time she realized  
what he meant, she was over the cliff.   
  
For awhile, everything was silent, until his ears cleared more and he  
could hear Tokio sobbing wildly. Not just the silent crying he'd seen  
her do before, but as he turned to look at her a little distance off, they  
were sobs that shook here entire body. Carefully, he pulled the arrow  
out from where it was buried slightly in his side, and covered the area  
with some spare bandaging he had brought along. Then he went to  
go over to Tokio, shaking slightly, hoping nothing had hurt her. He  
sat down next to her and cut away the ropes binding her form, and  
she collapsed, sobbing, arms limp as well as legs, bound for so long as  
to be out of use for a little while. Finally, he drew her up into a sitting  
position, then made her stand up to excercise the muscles in her legs.  
  
"Saito..." She said after awhile, "Thank you... for saving me..." He  
hugged her to him, and she held onto him.  
  
"Tokio, I promised I'd protect you. Even though I failed this time, I  
hope you'll forgive me." She looked at him.  
  
"Forgive you?" She asked, "You don't even need to ask for it." He  
looked back at her, who had stopped crying, and finally kissed her.  
  
"I love you, Tokio. Will you marry me?" A small smile appeared on  
her face.  
  
"Yes, Saito. Let's get out of here, all right?"  
  
"Yes. I agree." He took her hand and they walked out of the cavern.  
  
----  
  
I was thinking about not posting this, if only because all the little details might not work out. But I'm posting the second chapter, too, so please read that and review!!!! AND I MEAN IT!!!! PLEASE REVIEW!!!!! ~A. Potter 


	2. The beginning of the path

"Tokio-san, any news from your husband?" Tokio looked out from  
under the umbrella she was using to hide herself from the sun as she  
walked down the crowded, noisy street. She wore a write kimono  
with gold in it, and a red crane down about knee length. She had put  
in the crane herself after one night when Saito had gotten blood on it.  
  
"Oh, not much. He's doing well, as from what I've heard through the  
grapevine, so to speak." She replied to the woman, about her age  
wearing a light purple kimono. The woman shook her head.  
  
"I cannot even begin to know how you make it when you husband is  
gone so many days out of the year." Tokio smiled.  
  
"I can be a very independent person. Now, where's the best place to  
buy onions?"  
  
"Oh, just along here! It's a great place. I usually get my vegetables  
here. Lowest price, best quality."  
  
"Thank you very much. You know, Juri, he sends me money home,  
but I also have as much money as I need." Tokio went up to a  
merchant and purchased two onions.  
  
"It's not the money, Tokio, and I don't mean to be rude, but don't  
you ever miss him?" Tokio looked up at the sky as they walked down  
the road again.  
  
Do I miss you, Saito? She thought to herself, Yes, I miss you. But it's  
what you do.  
  
"Yes, I suppose I do." She answered as they walked back to Tokio's  
house. "But it's hard to understand, I suppose. Love can extend over  
the distance of many worlds. I don't need to see him every day to  
know how he is. Because I know Saito's fine."  
  
"Wouldn't you be happier, though? If he were near you all the time?"  
  
"It doesn't matter. In spirit, he's with me all the time. Thank you for  
shopping with me, Juri-san."  
  
"Of course. I'll be seeing you, then." Tokio walked in the house and  
into the kitchen, opening all the sliding windows. The Kyoto sun was  
very warm, and the summer heat beat down upon them all. For once,  
Tokio wasn't having anyone over to lunch. Usually she did, just to fill  
the silnce. But lately it seemed as if the silence had become her friend  
and companion, and she always, if she listened closely with her eyes  
closed in the night, she could hear the noises of Saito walking through  
the house. It made her feel closer to him still. She never told anyone  
about this, lest they think she was crazy.  
  
She shook her head to clear it and began to cook some of the shrimp  
she bought and the vegetables. After they were cooked, she put them  
in a bowl, grabbed her chopsticks, and ate her lunch standing up.  
Because she was staring at the sky, she missed the person coming up  
the street.  
  
"Tokio?" Someone called as they opened the door to the house. She  
gasped and spun, realizing the intruder could see her at any moment,  
since she left the kitchen door open.  
  
"Who is it?" She called, trying to remain unconcerned. Only the  
members of her family and the Shinsengumi knew of this house, and  
anyone else who happened to know had no reason to be here. She  
stepped out into the main living area to find Saito standing in front of  
the door. He smiled at her.  
  
"Me, Tokio. How have you been?" She came and hugged him.  
  
"I'm glad you're back." He kissed her forehead.  
  
"I'm sorry I didn't write to tell you I'd be back. I didn't know myself  
until I was practically here. I'll be here until my next assignment."  
  
"No one knows how long it will be, of course." She replied what she  
knew what he'd say next, but then added something new, "I feel,  
however, that it won't be long at all." He looked at her.  
  
"And how do you know that?" Tokio shook her head.  
  
"I don't know. It's just a feeling I have. Perhaps I'm wrong. You never  
can tell, can you?"  
  
"I suppose not." He let her go. "Do you have anything to eat? I'm  
very hungry." She walked back into the kitchen.  
  
"Of course. Let me cook you something. I'll only take a minute." He  
followed her, but hung back as she began to prepare the same food  
she just ate for lunch for Saito. As it cooked, she felt his presence and  
turned. "Saito, is everything all right?"  
  
He looked suprised at the question. "Oh, nothing." He looked out the  
window. "I suppose it's just been awhile since I've been back home. It  
feels a little awkward." She smiled.  
  
"I'm sorry. I hope you will feel more in place soon." She turned back  
to what she was cooking, finally pouring it into a bowl and handing it  
to him. "I just ate. But I'll sit with you, if you like." He nodded. As she  
followed him out, she began to wonder just what was really wrong.  
He had never acted this way when he came home all the other times.  
For a minute, she was terrified for their marriage, wild mind going  
over who she could go to if she found out that there was another  
woman. But then she calmed herself, thinking of exactly who she was  
talking about.  
  
They sat down across from each other. He ate quickly, not looking at  
her. Finally she gave up trying to pretend it was all okay. Better to  
face truth sooner.  
  
"Saito, something IS the matter! Please tell me, I can feel it." He  
looked up at her seriously.  
  
"There is nothing wrong!" He shouted, and her eyes opened wide. He  
got up to take his bowl back into the kitchen when, in the blink of an  
eye, he collapsed.  
  
"Saito!" She screamed, catching him as he fell. "Saito!" He did not  
respond. The bowl shattered upon hitting the floor. Little bits and  
pieces got caught in her kimono. Carefully she lifted him up, noticing  
how thin he'd gotten, and took him upstairs to his bed. Feeling his  
forehead, she noticed he was burning up.  
  
"Please, please, be all right, Saito..." She begged. He opened his eyes a  
little, his color having drained out of his face until it became almost  
pearl-white.  
  
"Tokio-" He whispered, "I'm sorry for yelling at you..." She kissed his  
forehead quickly.  
  
"It's all right, Saito. Just don't get out of bed until I get back with a  
doctor. I don't care if you can or can't see one for whatever reason,  
without one you're going to die." He didn't argue, so she tucked the  
blanket around him quickly and departed.  
  
The doctor looked up when Tokio burst in. He knew her well- she  
always was purchasing bandages for something.  
  
"Tokio-san! You should be carrying an umbrella this time of day! Your  
pale skin is going to burn!"  
  
"Sir, Saito came back unannounced, and while we were eating, he got  
up and collapsed! He's deathly pale and has a high fever. I don't  
know what to do..."  
  
"Calm down, Tokio-san. Things are going slowly for me, so I'll come  
and take a look. He sounds like he needs me to look over him."  
  
"Thank you so much, doctor!" He follwed her out, after grabbing a  
bag off the table.  
  
When they arrived at the house, Tokio hurried upstairs to make sure  
Saito was still there. It looked like he hadn't moved.  
  
"Tokio-san, I'm afraid I must ask you to wait outside. I really cannot  
work with women watching me. IT's a rule we keep at our clinic.  
  
"Of course, sir..." Tokio swallowed, and turned to walk out.  
  
"Tokio-" Saito rasped from the bed. She only turned her head to look  
at him.  
  
"The doctor insists I wait outside, Saito. I'll see you when he's done."  
Saito coughed.   
  
Tokio waited outside the room, pacing back and forth. Finally, the  
doctor came out of the room, sliding the door shut behind him  
quietly.  
  
"May I speak to you downstairs?"  
  
"Of course, but Saito hears most things that go on inside this house."  
  
"We'll risk it." They walked downstairs and Tokio made tea. They sat  
down at the table.  
  
"Yes?" The doctor looked rather unhappy.  
  
"At the first sign of this illness, I qould have prescribed rest. The  
second stage, some medication would have helped, and rest for quite  
awhile. However, Saito-san has had this illness for quite awhile, and it  
has worsened because of travel. I- I hate to say this. I have no idea  
what to do now. We will try everything in our power to heal him,  
and we will use lots of rest, but- There is a possibilty Saito-san will  
die."  
  
"There is a possibility he will die everyday."  
  
"Does this mean you don't believe me?"  
"No, not at all! I will do everything I can as well to help Saito!"  
  
"Good. I will have someone drop the medicine you need by later  
today. A week later, he will come by again with another. I have no  
idea how long this recovery will take." She heard Saito calling from  
his bedroom, almost more in her mind.  
  
"Saito's calling. Thank you very much, sir. Have a good day." Tokio  
walked up to Saito's room as the doctor left the house.  
  
"Tokio?" He called softly. She sttod in the doorframe, looking, trying  
to hold back the sadness that was running through her. She watched  
him call for her weakly, putting him in great contrast to the Saito of  
the other visits.  
  
Saito, how could you do this? She screamed in her mind, but of course  
he could not hear, You knew you were sick, weren't you, while you  
were on the road... At the sight of him coughing again, her heart  
softened slightly, People don't realize how much you actually care  
about this country. I know that's why you let yourself get this way.  
She took as step toward him. Either way, please don't do this again.  
  
"Saito? Did you need something? I'll get you some more tea?" She  
offered. He shook his head.  
  
"I want to know- what did the doctor say?" She smiled. Trust him to  
want to know that, even if it WAS just to beat it.   
  
"He said there is a possibility you will die. He will do all he can." She  
now stood by the bed, and he reached up and grabbed her hand.  
Tokio blinked, and held on, kneeling next to him.  
  
"Don't worry that I will die. You know I will not."  
  
"I don't believe you will, this time around. However, Hajime Saito,  
human you may be, a God you are not. Sometimes I wonder if you  
know your limits and ignore them, or if you think you HAVE none."  
He smiled, then coughed.  
"If you were out there, every day, during this Revolution... You, too,  
would push yourself beyond these foolish mortal limits."  
  
"I am not; I am rational. However, I have one thing to ask of you,  
Saito." Tokio said to him fiercely, "Anyone who needs help, so long  
as we are alive, and comes to you to find it. Perhaps they lost a  
family. I can sense the pain for many will not be over with the end of  
the Revolution. But anyone, man, woman, child, it matters not, send  
them to me. In that small way I can help someone get back on their  
feet and, in some small part, help bring an end to this insanity." He  
smiled.  
  
"You never told me you thought this revolution was insanity."  
  
"I understand its cause, I understand why you are fighting stop it. I  
understand the wills of men, and I understand why people will get  
hurt, why they will die, for this cause. I also know why people run,  
and why they cry. Forgive me for being so soft, Hajime Saito, but the  
one thing I do not understand is how ANYONE could do this to  
themselves." Her voice lowered, "Especially you."  
  
"I'll be all right, Tokio. You'll see."  
  
"I certaintly hope so. Take all the time you need to heal, however."  
  
The next week, the aide stopped dead in his tracks as Saito opened  
the door.  
  
"What can I do for you, boy?" The boy began to stammer.  
  
"Uhhhh... Must've gotten the wrong house... Sorry, sir!" Saito laughed  
and slid the door shut behind the fleeing boy.  
  
"Saito, who was that?" Tokio came walking down the stairs.  
  
"No one I knew." He said, "Perhaps it was the... doctor's aide?" She  
began to laugh, until she was just short of rolling on the ground. Even  
Saito smiled.  
That night, Tokio heard something strange downstairs. Someone was  
walking- more like tiptoeing. The moon was high in the sky, but the  
person didn't sound like Saito. Tokio got up, her long black hair in a  
braid, still in her sleeping outfit.  
  
She walked downstairs.  
  
As she walked down the stairs, she could hear Saito's breathing in the  
room. He was stil asleep, still recovering from the disease. She took a  
deep breath, knowing that she had to do this herself. Tokio couldn't  
come to wake him just now.  
  
She reached the bottom of the stairs, her feet making no sound on the  
well-worn floor. The small scuffling noise could be heard from the  
kitchen. Carefully, she walked in, silently grabbing a candle. She  
stopped right outside to light it, then walked in.  
  
"Hello?" She asked quietly, "Who's there?" The scuffling stopped  
suddenly, she knew it was from the back storage room.  
  
She walked back there, pushing open the door. "Hello? Who are you?  
Where are you?" She noticed a barrel was opened slightly, when she  
was sure she had closed it tightly before. She walked over and pulled  
off the lid.  
  
"Oh, my..." Tokio whispered. Upstairs, sensing his wife's confusion  
and surprise, Saito woke up. He came downstairs and found Tokio in  
the storeroom, staring into a barrel.  
  
"Tokio?" Finally, he heard it. A tiny, weak crying sound. His mouth  
dropped open practically, as Tokio- strong for her looks- lifted out of  
the barrel a half dead girl about thirteen years old. She was dirty, and  
very, very underfed. She was barely clothed, simply dressed in some  
tatters of something that looked like it used to be beautiful. She had  
long matted black hair.  
  
"Saito, I had no idea how this happened..." He reminded himself that  
at times like these, Tokio could start to beg for forgiveness, a trait  
from her previous home that had never faded away.  
  
"Of course you didn't." She shook her head to clear it.  
  
"I'm sorry about that, Saito... Please, do you know where the doctor  
lives?" He nodded firmly, "Then please, come and bring him here,  
even if it's the middle of the night. She's got bruises all over her..." He  
turned.  
  
"I will be back shortly. Put her in the guest room, if you wish." As he  
left, he heard the faint crying again, as if it came from a million miles  
away.  
  
"Shhh, quiet now. You'll be all right. Saito's gone to get the doctor."  
He left, shutting the door behind him, wondering how exactly this  
could've happened.   
  
Tokio heard the door shut and immediately gave the girl a bath,  
throwing out the cloth she had been previously wearing. Since the girl  
was hardly able to hold herself up, Tokio scrubbed the beaten body  
gently, remembering how much it hurt when her nurse had scrubbed  
her bruises.. Wincing at the memory, she was very careful. Finally, she  
changed her into a sleeping outfit that was too small for Tokio, and  
brought her to the upstairs room, wondering how she got like this.  
Wondering how and why, she got into their house and hid in a  
barrel. She stood by the bed for a moment, looking at the girl.  
  
"Give her to me. Give her back." She turned, gasping the loudest gasp  
of her life. In the doorway was a man she had never seen before in  
her life. At least not that she could remember.  
  
"Wh-who are you?" He, of course, had a sword, still sheathed, but  
that meant nothing. He could draw it at any moment. "Did you do  
this to her?" She might as well go down fighting- she wished Saito and  
the doctor would get back soon.  
  
"She was sold to me by her Father for money to gamble with- she's  
mine! We were to be married, however, you took her from me! GIVE  
HER BACK!" He took a step forward, hand on hilt. She stepped  
backward, mind frantically searching for something to protect herself  
and the girl with. Her hand groped and found Saito's grandmother's  
porcelian vase on a table. She prayed that the woman would forgive  
her.  
  
"She doesn't belong to you! She can't belong to you! She belongs to  
no one, especially one who has aided in abusing her so much!"  
  
"Stop preaching, woman! You should be in a bed somewhere, not  
facing off with me! Don't you know who I am?" She ignored the  
comment.  
  
"I don't know who you are, and I don't care!" When he stepped  
forward again, she hurled the vase at him. It broke upon impact, he  
couldn't bring up the sword fast enough.   
  
"Tokio? Where are you? I've brought the doctor!"  
  
"Saito!" She screamed, "Up here, in the guest room! Someone's here,  
HURRY!" Before she knew it, he was standing behind the man. She  
closed her eyes like she had as a girl, as the sweeping attack followed  
through. She could only feel warm blood, turning cold, splashing on  
her face like a fountain, and the fear as she opened her eyes and could  
not see anything but red. The body hit her from the force of the  
attack and she fell with it.  
  
Saito pulled Tokio out from under the body just as the doctor arrived  
in the room, turning pale.  
  
"What happened here?" He asked in a strange voice. Saito threw the  
arm of a shocked Tokio over his shoulder. "I asked, what happened?  
This man is... dead..."  
  
"As a member of the Shinsengumi. I, of course, have a sword. I used it  
to kill this man who was about to kill both of the women in this  
room. Or at least, my wife."  
  
"I'm sorry, sir, but I am not allowed to treat any related family  
members of any group..." Tokio held up a small purse, bulging with  
money.  
  
"Take this... please. To keep quiet and to treat this girl who is on this  
bed currently. After that- you won't hear from us again, if that is your  
wish." The doctor nodded.  
  
"You understand, Tokio-san, that this isn't because of your family  
individually-"  
  
"Of course. Saito, I'll be fine now. I'm going to go... wash this off. He  
nodded and let go, and she disappeared through the door. Saito said  
nothing to the doctor as well, just lifted the body of the dead man  
over his shoulder and carried him out of the room. The doctor sat  
down, gulping nervously at the sudden change of events that had  
occured. He thought to himself as he did what he could for the girl.  
  
What shall I do? Now I know why Tokio-san is always buying  
bandages- but what if she or Saito-san gets sick? The practice... We are  
the closest docotrs! If our clinic had not been there, this girl might be  
dead now! Maybe... Maybe it doesn't matter that Hajime Saito is one  
of the Shinsengumi. If I talk to Tokio-san nd promise not to say  
anything, perhaps it can be overlooked...  
  
"Excuse me, sir? I won't watch you, I promise," Tokio was there  
again, in work clothing, with a mop, rag, and water. "I just need to  
clean up this floor."  
  
"That's fine, Tokio-san." His mind came upon a decision, "I'm going  
to overlook what happened tonight. As long as no one says anything,  
it won't matter. I understand that sometime in the future, it is  
inevitable that you will need a doctor in an emergency, and... I don't  
see the point in trading a life for a life."  
Tokio dared look up. "Really, sir?" When he nodded, all the tension  
in her broke out in a huge sigh. "Thank you so much."  
  
"I'm doing this because you are some of my best supply customers,  
and this girl looks like she might possible be able to help at the clinic  
when she's stronger." He teased, and she half-smiled, continuing to  
work on the floor. Finally, he got up and prepared to leave.  
  
"Will she be all right, then?"  
  
"Only if she is fed and taken care of well. I think you may ask her her  
name, but I would not press her for many more details than that,  
unless she tells you. I don't know what you're going to do with her  
now, I can't take her-"  
  
"I promised Saito," She began carefully, "That anyone he ever met  
who needed help getting back on their feet I would take care of until  
they do so. I am not giving up on my promise to my husband now."  
He nodded.  
  
"Well, goodnight, Tokio-san. I'll be looking to hear the news of the  
girl's progress." He walked out, and she followed, having finished the  
floor.  
  
-------  
  
Saito went off the next morning as usual, and Tokio stayed home, just  
in case the girl woke up. She started out cleaning the kitchen area, and  
then got on a roll and cleaned the whole house, outside and in. She  
was just finishing the porch outside the front door in the evening  
when Saito returned home.  
  
"And has she woken up yet?" Tokio looked up.  
  
"No, not yet. I've been checking in on her constantly." She finished  
the porch quickly and stood up, following him inside. Saito stopped  
right inside the front door, face tilting upward at a sudden sense of  
something.  
"She's awake now, I do believe. And very afraid." He didn't say  
more, but followed her up the stairs as she pushed her way in fron t  
of him, setting down the bucket and cleaning supplies.  
  
The girl looked around, frightened. Had she not succeded in running  
away, and HE had caught her? From the air outside, it didn't seem  
like it was where her father had gone, so she was not with him. A  
woman with dark hair tied back in a braid and a man smelling of  
blood interrupted her thoughts as they came in. He assumed a stance  
by the door, where there was a smell of recent blood, and she knelt  
down next to the bed.  
  
"Who are you? At least tell me your name." The woman took her  
hand. "I'm Hajime Tokio, and my husband is Hajime Saito." They  
didn't look like man and wife to her- the man was full of silence and  
criticism, and the woman was generous.  
  
"Anda Akina." She managed to croak, throat dry. "I don't think I'm  
Anda anymore, though. My Father sold me to a man who I ran away  
from- He's looking for me!" She grabbed Tokio's arm, wild eyed.  
  
"The one Saito killed." The woman said quietly, as if to herself,  
"Don't worry, you're safe- but your Father..."  
  
"Went to Hokkaido, because he couldn't find work. To get enough  
money to gamble, and go north, he sold me..." She shivered, "So I  
don't think I'm an Anda anymore."  
  
"Well, Akina-san, you'll be staying with us for as long as need be. You  
could use our last name, if you wish. Or you can find your own.  
  
"I'll use Hajime, for now. Until I find my own."  
  
"I understand why you don't want to be Anda anymore." Akina  
looked at the woman more closely. Yes- she too, had felt pain.  
  
"Please, just Akina..." She begged Tokio, who nodded.  
  
"And I am just Tokio, as is Saito."  
  
"Tokio-" Saito said, clearing his throat, "I've been meaning to tell you,  
ever since I returned home-" Tokio froze, and got up, still holding  
onto the thin hand. She faced him.  
  
"You-" He nodded, and Akina looked confused. Saito half-turned to  
Akina.  
  
"I am often away from this house, traveling, as part of the  
Shinsengumi, that is my job. So you will not see me as much as you  
will see Tokio. This is another one of those times. I will be leaving at  
sunrise tomorrow." Akina was about to reply, but Tokio jumped in.  
  
"Don't mind that- It's just what he does. It doesn't bother me any."  
  
Saito left at sunrise the next morning.  
  
--------- Six months later.  
  
"Akina, please go down the road and get what we need for dinner  
tonight, and I'll see about getting a new bowl to replace the one I  
broke yesterday." Tokio directed. Akina nodded and walked off  
down the street.  
  
It was a warmer day for January, about 52 degrees, and, while there  
wasn't any snow, it wasn't exactly warm, either. Tokio shiviered  
slightly as she walked toward the potter's place, wondering where  
exactly Saito was and if he was warm enough.  
  
As Akina walked down the street to where she could possibly find  
food for their dinner, she kept thinking back to how tired Tokio  
looked that past winter. She knew money wasn't the problem, and all  
her fussing over Akina had payed off. Akina mentally hugged herself  
as she thought of her new image. She was no longer too thin- six  
months of Tokio's cooking had fixed that, she had built up her  
muscles again, and got her color back into her skin. For the first time  
in forever, Tokio had sat her down and brushed enerything out of her  
hair. She had a good home, an identity, and clothes to wear that were  
nice.  
  
So that meant Tokio must have been worried about something else.  
Something that made her tired, and she was beginning to come down  
with something. But, try as she might, Akina could not get Tokio to  
see a doctor. Tokio always brushed it off with an "I'm fine."  
  
It must've been Saito. Her almost-father. Akina had heard of him  
before she moved in, how cold and lonely he was. It was true, he was  
a uniquely distant person, but that didn't always come true. Of  
course, she had only the infrequent letters home, written to her and  
Tokio.  
  
That night, there was rain. Akina looked at the sky and saw, just for a  
minute, it was tinted blood red. Then she saw the lone, lean, tall  
figure walk down the street. Not quite sure who it was, but not  
wanting to get Tokio, who was actually upstairs resting, she continued  
to watch.  
  
It was Saito.  
  
"Saito!" She gasped. He looked at her sharply as they walked inside.  
  
"Akina." He greeted finally. "I need Tokio."  
  
"If it's bad news, then you shouldn't tell her, she's not been feeling  
well-" He interrupted her.  
  
"Get me Tokio." She shook her head and walked up the stairs,  
knocking on Tokio's door.  
  
"Yes?" Came a muffled voice from within.  
  
"Saito's home." Akina called in.  
  
She didn't know what hit her.  
  
Akina chose not to go downstairs, but let them have some time alone.  
  
Downstairs, Tokio was staring at Saito from the staircase.  
  
"So you really ARE back." She said finally. They covered the distance  
between in quick step. He hugged her, and she had a sudden sense off  
foreboding. "What's the matter?"  
  
"Tokio..."  
  
"What?" He didn't let her go, but held her tighter. She began to feel  
very afraid. This wasn't like him at all.  
  
"I'll give you one chance to leave me. Just- pack up with Akina and  
leave, go to your Grandfather's house. To forget me." She bit her lip,  
feeling tears coming.  
  
"I'm afraid I'm already in too deep to simply let you go like that. I  
won't do it. Now tell me. What's happening? Is it something to do  
with the Shinsengumi? And that huge new group that's in Kyoto  
currently?"  
  
"I'm afraid that after living with us for this long, you've gotten it all  
right. I've been in Kyoto for eight days now, planning this. We're  
going to take them by surprise."  
  
"Saito- they're so much... bigger... than your section of the  
Shinsengumi... The odds are impossible!" He kissed her quickly.  
  
"Do you really think stopping this Revolution is insane, then?"  
  
"I can offer you only the same as I told you before. Even when I risk  
losing you to this whole Revolution. When does this take place?"  
  
A knock sounded on the door. He turned, letting her go, and  
answered it. It was a man from the Shinsengumi she knew well, but in  
this moment of stress couldn't remember his name.  
  
"Tonight." Saito answered to her question. He walked out of the  
door.  
  
She had to stop him. Somehow, she had to. She had seen glimpses of  
that group when helping out their section of the Shinsengumi. It was  
at least twenty of them to one of...  
  
Crazy. It was all crazy, every last particle of the idea was insane.  
  
"Saito!" Tokio ran in front of him as he turned out to the waiting  
Shinsengumi on the street. They began walking. "Saito, you can't do  
this! It's twenty of them to every one of you! Saito, please!" He  
continued to brush her off, face unreadable. "Yes." She breathed,  
"Yes, I honestly, truly, believe what you're doing is insane. It's insane  
and wrong! You don't need to be the last wolf! You don't need to be  
the lone wolf standing!"  
  
"The lone wolf, Tokio? Is that what you call me?" She tagged after the  
group insistently, "Why the lone wolf? Does that mean that I will be  
alone, without my group? If this group shall all die, I, as part of it,  
shall die with it. I am doing this for your country." For the first time,  
anger showed in his voice. "So why do you defy me?"  
  
"Because-" She struggled, "Because-" At the next turn, she would have  
to leave them behind. "Because of love." She finished. He turned to  
look at her. "Because- I love you, and if you were to die, then I  
would die too. And unless I am mistaken, you are doing this to  
protect me, and you would not let yourself die, since I would as well.  
And then, you would be the last wolf of the Shinsengumi, Saito! The  
lone wolf!" The reached the corner.  
  
"Leave us, Tokio. Go home."  
  
"Saito!"  
  
"NO! Do not follow! Go back to Akina!" He pushed her back, using  
force on her since the first time they met. He walked on ahead with  
the rest of the group, and she fell to her knees on the drizzly street,  
tears mingling with the rain.  
  
"Saito..." She whispered, "Don't leave me..." Akina came with  
another woman, out onto the street. "Saito..." Her last words before  
she fainted, "Don't keep your promise to me... Don't protect me..."  
  
From the site of the battle, Saito looked back for a split second.  
  
"I'm sorry, Tokio. But I must."  
  
Back in Tokio's home, all the wives were there, but Tokio was doing  
nothing to help serve. Though she had always believed that doing  
something helped ease the pain, she just sat there, huddled in the  
middle of the main room in front of the fire, with the others  
watching her cry in weariness, including Akina. No one had ever seen  
her cry like this before. She was the stoic one of the group, the one  
who always had a cup of tea and some good advice when the others  
were scared. Always faitful that Saito and the others would pull  
through. It seemed almost a death omen that she sat there, crying.  
Finally, a couple of them went to fix something in the kitchen for  
everyone to eat. Juri, a woman of the Shinsengumi and the one who  
had questioned Tokio about Saito before, came to move on the floor  
with Tokio, comforting her.  
  
"Come now, Tokio-san. Don't cry. You always told us that Saito and  
the others would come through before. What about now?" Tokio  
looked up at Juri's face.  
  
"I- I don't know, Juri-san. I don't know what will happen to them."  
  
"Look at them now." Juri whispered so only she could hear. "They're  
scared stiff. Why? Because you're afraid. YOU were the stoic one- you  
always had faith in them. Now you're not sure? Now, they're worried  
for their loved one's safety."  
  
"I told Saito that what he was doing was insane. Protecting, or  
breaking, this revolution, it doesn't matter what side you're on. It's  
all..."  
  
"Insane. Mad. Why are they risking their lives to protect this country?  
Why are the others risking their lives to destroy it? Which side does  
which, anyway? Sometimes, even I do not know. Tokio-san, Even  
now, married to one of these men, I do not believe the way of the  
strongest sword is the right path for men to follow. But now, for us,  
for all of us, and for them, you MUST have faith." Tokio sighed,  
nodded, and got up. Everyone's eyes watched her.  
  
"They're going to be fine." She said, trying with all her might to  
sound confident, "They're all going to be fine. Please feel free to make  
yourself comfortable. I am going to bed. Akina, I have a headache  
from so much crying, I'm going to lie down for a bit. Please watch  
over them for me." Akina nodded, and Tokio vanished upstairs.  
  
Late that night, the Shinsengumi members came in. Everyone had been  
moved into rooms upstairs, but they found Tokio and Akina there  
with bandages and other healing supplies. A small candle was lit next  
to them.  
  
"Did you lose any?" She asked the nearest man, who grabbed her  
hands and wrung them in his excitement. He had short black hair and  
shining green eyes.   
  
"Not a one!" he whispered excitedly. "The surprise strategy, it worked  
like a charm. We've got several wounded though."  
  
"Is Saito all right?"  
  
"Oh, he was fantastic! A bunch of them got in trouble, and he was  
right there, quick as lightning. He's fine. I don't think he got much of a  
scratch. Didn't make sure everyone was okay, though. Just know  
general numbers.  
  
Some of the men who didn't need assistance helped to bandage those  
who did. After everyone was given a spot on the downstairs floor,  
Tokio realized Saito wasn't there.  
  
"He's outside," One man said, who was hauling Akina upstairs- she  
had fallen asleep while bandaging someone's ankle. "Taking a  
smoke." She walked outside quietly. He still noticed.  
  
"Tokio. We didn't lose a single person. Are you happy now?"  
  
"No. But knowing who you are, and what you do, I doubt I will be  
happy." He turned to her.  
  
"The thing is though, halfway through the battle, we were losing.  
Then we suddenly felt a new confidence, and were able to fight  
better. Usually it happens the other way around in surprise attacks."  
She stood next to him, and he put out what he was smoking with the  
heel of his shoe.  
  
"I'm only thankful you came back all right." She told him. He hugged her, finally,  
after a long silence.  
  
"I'm sorry to make you worry." He said, holding her.  
  
"That's what you do. Come back and tell me when you feel sorry  
enough to stop."  
  
"Don't wait for it."  
  
"I won't." She smiled, "I won't."  
  
THE END  
  
---- A/N  
  
As I accidentally forgot in the last chapter, Rurouni Kenshin and co. belong to someone else... who can pay their bills without worrying. Hajime Saito belongs to them, but the REAL one, (who died at 45 or so from a severe stomach ulcer,) belongs to no one but himself. Thank you so much to all who reviewed!!!! I have a possible third chapter idea for this, but I dunno if I want to put it up. Please review and tell me your opinion!.!.!.!  
  
~A. Potter 


	3. Dragonfly

"Tokio." Tokio's eyes snapped open, to see Saito lying right next to her, shaking her slightly.  
  
"What?" She asked quietly, because he, too, was whispering. He pointed toward the roof, and she looked up.  
  
A little light flickered on and off, and Tokio realized it was a firefly.  
  
"Do you see them?"  
  
"I see a firefly..." He gently reached over and directed her face to the ceiling right next to the firefly. Tokio gasped, knowing why she couldn't see it before.  
  
It was black, but as the faint light of the firefly right next to it lit up, it glittered in its glow. A black dragonfly.  
  
"I see it now." She agreed, "Is that what you woke me for?"  
  
"I suppose it was no big deal." There was a little silence, and as Saito looked over, he saw Tokio had fallen asleep again. He smiled a little.  
  
He didn't know why he had shown her the firefly and the dragonfly next to each other. It wasn't like him, to notice such little unimportant things. Usually it was her who pointed those things out. He shook his head mentally, and closed his eyes.  
  
Akina got up early that morning, creeping past Tokio and Saito's room, trying not to awaken them.  
  
Too late. Saito stood there, fully dressed, and wondering what on earth Akina was doing, creeping so softly past their door. She grinned at him.  
  
"Good morning. Today's midsummer." He blinked at her.  
  
"Oh. It is? How do you expect me to keep track of things like that?"  
  
"Just thought you'd like to know. Where's Tokio? She usually gets up before either of us." Saito shook his head in exasperation.  
  
"She wasn't awake when I got up this morning. I woke her up last night for something, however, and I don't believe she takes to that very well."  
  
"Ah. I suppose it's up to me, then, to fix breakfast." They began to walk downstairs, just when Tokio practically flew past them.  
  
"Akina, I would much appreciate it if you could make breakfast for yourself and Saito this morning! I must go get something from my Grandfather!" Both blinked and watched her run down the stairs and out the door.  
  
"All right then," Akina agreed. "Guess that answers my question."  
  
Saito watched his wife go in silence, wondering what that was all about.  
  
"Tokio-san!" One of the women in the shop greeted her. "Sir," she greeted Tokio's Grandfather as well, "How may I help you?"  
  
"Tokio-san here saw some of the fabric that you had out on display the other day, and she came to me this morning saying that she needed some. I am paying for it to be made into a kimono."  
  
"Well, Tokio-san, why don't you come with me, and sir, you may sit down if you choose." Both nodded and Tokio proceeded back with the woman.  
  
"I saw the one that was a dark blue, and had the-"  
  
"Oh, you must mean this one! I liked this one, myself, but they could've made the dragonfly a bit brighter. We could see if we could possibly get it for you in a brighter color."  
  
"No, no, thank you. The black Dragonfly is exactly what I wanted. I think it's so beautiful how they positioned it so nicely with the dragonfly... How did they ever come up with the idea?"  
  
"You mean you haven't heard the story?" The shopgirl looked shocked. Tokio paused.  
  
"Why, no."  
  
"It is said..." The shopgirl began.  
  
A man, awhile ago, left Kyoto one stormy night. His wife, who lived in Kyoto with him at the time, begged him not to go, because the winds were so high, and the storm raged very badly. But this man had a mission to accomplish, and nothing would stop him from setting forth to complete the tasks he had set for himself. So his wife stayed alone, and he went out.  
  
Ten years later, the man still had not returned. He had vanished off this planet, it seemed, forever. The woman, surprising most of her neghbors, packed up and left, to find her husband. Everyone thought she was crazy, especially since one of the richest men in Kyoto was after her affections.  
  
The night she set off, and she was accompained by a small black dragonfly. At first she didn't know why it was following her, but then she realized it was trying to lead her, as it always danced in front of her. It is said also that a small firefly appeared in the man's room, where he lived because he had been captured by the ones he was meant to kill. For ten days, the firefly flew in, every night, unwavering. Finally, on the eleventh night, the black dragonfly flew into the room with the firefly, and the woman found him that same night, huddled there, watching the two insects, the dragonfly's dark colors glinting in the firefly's dim light...  
  
"That is a beautiful story. Could I possibly have this made..."  
  
"Of course! I'll get your sizes, and I'll have something made up for you in no time!" Everyhing was fitted, and Tokio's grandfather even paid extra so she could pick it up later that day. They went outside and got a carriage back to her Grandfather's estate, where she helped the servants there. Early afternoon, they went back to find it ready.  
  
Tokio went behind a screen with one o the shopgirls and changed into it. When she came out, her hair was down, drawn back from her face by a white crown of flowers one of the girls had. THe kimono fit perfectly, and Tokio thanked them many times over as they walked out of the shop and back in the carriage so she could go back home.  
  
As the carriage went by, the boy with a earring in his left ear of a dragon, named Saru, took aim. He stood behind a huge load of crates that had just been brought up and were still full of pottery.  
  
"One..." He counted under his breath as it turned toward him. He braced himself.  
  
"Two..." The carriage approached closer.  
  
"Three!" As it rolled by, he shoved the pile of crates over, then, in all the confusion, ran out.  
  
Tokio suddenly heard someone shout, "Look out!" She twisted into an odd position and screamed in pain as the carriage toppled over. Pottery, or glass, broke and a bunch of shards flew into the carriage, hitting her square in her face. She screamed again, and the carriage hit the ground on it's side, causing her world to slowly fade to nothing.  
  
Akina was tying her hair up when someone came to the door. She ran downstairs, ignoring Saito, who had finished choking down her cooking just awhile ago, and still was mad at her for feeding it to him. She opened the door, to find a young man, about her age, deathly white and shaking.  
  
"Ex- excuse me, are Hajime Saito and Hajime Akina home?" Akina automatically sensed something wrong.  
  
"I'm Hajime Akina. Please, come in, if only for a minute. Saito! Someone's here to see us." Saito looked up, taking the person in in a blink of an eye. Finally, he stood up.  
  
"What do you need here?" The man looked very nervous, and Saito raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Sir, it's- it's about Tokio-san and her grandfather."  
  
"What?" Saito asked, this getting his attention.  
  
"There was an accident, or at least that's what they say, and the carriage they were riding in was hit by a pile of crates with expensive pottery in them, and it fell over..." Akina turned pale, Saito hid his feelings as best he could.  
  
"No..." She breathed. The man looked at her, and then continued.  
  
"The old man died of injuries and mainly of shock. The carriage wasn't very well made, and when it hit the ground, the whole frame collapsed. The young woman," Both Saito and Akina were holding their breaths, "Is still alive, but was badly injured by the supports, and the pottery hitting her face from a broken crate, as well as twisting into an odd position, and the general fall itself. Of course, she will also be affected by her Grandfather's death..."  
  
"Is she conscious?" Saito asked.  
  
"Not currently, no. During the middle of the operation to pull her out of the wreckage, she woke up. She told me, since I was there, to find you two. Then she fell unconscious again. I don't know if she's awake now, but she's in a practice across town." He shuddered as he remembered her opening her eyes while still caught in the wreckage.  
  
"Take us there." Saito ordered, the man bowed his head nervously. "I have a carriage waiting outside, sir." They ran out.  
  
Tokio first felt the light, then felt the pain, the excrutiating pain. It was everywhere, protruding into her like a million knives. Then, came the realizatino that she could only FEEL the light, not see it. She could she a few blurry shapes, but there was no light.  
  
She tried to open her eyes, but then realized with a terrible shock that her eyes WERE open already. She screamed, fighting the gripping darkness.  
  
"Someone, help me! I can't see!" She saw a shape, felt someone holding her down before she hurt herself. Not that she could hurt herself. She wasn't that stupid. Just very scared. Finally, she calmed down.  
  
"Where's Saito?" She whispered into someone's restraining arm. The person replied, and she realized it was Juri.  
  
"Saito and Akina are coming as fast as they can."  
  
"Where's my Grandfather? Is he all right?"  
  
"He's... feeling no pain..." Juri had tears in her eyes at the sight of the woman she restrained that was coming to the realization of what happened.  
  
"He's dead, isn't he? Answer me truthfully, Juri. Is he dead?"  
  
Saito walked into the practice just as Tokio was told the answer. The truthful answer. He came in just to hear her scream.  
  
"NO!!" He sprinted past a doctor who was trying to tell him to calm down, past the flocking maids, servants, and people who were crying. A doctor pursued him, but he saw Juri of his group of the Shinsengumi, and ducked into that room. She seemed to be holding someone down.  
  
"Juri?"  
  
Tokio heard someone's voice. Saito's voice. Her hand reached out as Juri let go of her. Juri went out to block the door, and Saito took Tokio's hand, kneeling by the bed.  
  
"Saito?" She cried, not seeing her husband's face.  
  
"Tokio." He said softly, "I'm right here. Akina's helping others outside."  
  
"I don't want her to see me like this... I'm blind, Saito! Someone took away my grandfather and my sight!" He swallowed, feeling her helplessness. Juri's voice cut in from the hallway.  
  
"Tokio, the doctor says the blindness is only temporary. You'll have your sight back very soon."  
  
"Tokio-" Saito saw the clothes she wore for the first time. They were beaten and torn, but he could still see the design. "Your kimono... It's the firefly and the black dragonfly..." A smiled crossed her face.  
  
"Yes, yes! I saw this in the shop the other day, and I got it today. That's where I went when... all this happened." He looked her over more carefully.  
  
She had a cut running along her face, up by her eyes, and had the basic stratches. Tokio had been very lucky in this accident, except for the blindness. And the emotional scar from her Grandfather's death...  
  
"You'll be all right, Tokio." He said finally, "I'm sure you will." She squeezed his hand.  
  
"I'll be even better when I can see again. It hurts so much-" She took a sharp intake of breath, "Not being able to see the colors. Not being able to see this beautiful world that is around me..."  
  
"Saito, there's a man here to see you." Juri interjected, and Saito stood up, letting go of his wife's hand. A man stood in the doorway, dressed completely in black, waiting for him. They stepped out into the hall.  
  
"Hajime Saito, we have a new assignment for you..."  
  
"Tokio-" They heard Juri from the doorway, "Tokio, no! You must go back to bed! TOKIO!" Both men turned toward the two struggling figures in the doorway. Juri was attempting to restrain Tokio, who was putting up a good fight, blind or not.  
  
"Juri-san, let go of me!" Her face turned toward the two men, and the man in black heaved a quick intake of breath as Tokio's normally beautiful eyes turned, unseeing, but still full of pain and rage, on them.  
  
"Tokio!" Saito said sharply, "What are you doing?" Tokio pushed at Juri, who, in surprise, fell down. Tokio ran toward Saito, but, to his surprise, pushed him aside, running down th hall.  
  
"Fine, Saito! Leave! Even blind..." She stopped a minute in her running, for effect, "Even blind, I'll make it through. Even with Grandfather's death..." She let out a sob and continued running. He made no effort to run after her, and Juri got up, watching her go. From the waiting room, they heard Akina.  
  
"Tokio? Tokio, where are you going? You shouldn't be out of bed yet..." Finally, Saito walked out into the front to see where Tokio was. Akina was standing at the door, yelling Tokio's name frantically. She turned back to Saito.  
  
He simply watched her in her confused state. "Saito, what happened?" He didn't answer her question.  
  
"I have to go pick up my sword. I leave at dawn." Her mouth slowly fell open.  
  
"You're not leaving Tokio like this, are you?" When he only stared at her, she answered her own question, "Of course you are," she muttered.  
  
Tokio didn't know where to go, not with her Grandfather dead. In fact, she had no idea where she was. It was dark out, and so she could barely see at all. Perhaps she could turn around and come back the way she came, but... no. After turning a partial circle, she didn't know which was WAS back, since she was in an unfamilier part of town. She stopped think, knowing that crying and being scared would not help her get her way out of this.  
  
"Saito, you know that we're in an unfamilier part of town, and if tokio ran off, she probably doesn't know where she is!" Panic edged Akina's voice. They were traveling down the road that Akina said Tokio had run down.  
  
"With a head start, she could be anywhere. Calm down, however. We'll find her." He replied. She shook her head, following him, hardly able to keep up with his brisk pace.  
  
Something floated in Tokio's vision. It was obviously very close to her, as she could see the light quite well. She lay huddled in an alley.  
  
"A..." She whispered, tired and unable to move, "A... dragonfly... The light... It's so beautiful..."  
  
"Saito, you have a bug by your right shoulder." He brushed at his right shoulder and the bug, instead of flying off, got angriliy in his face. He tried brushing it off one more time, then, as his eyes focused on it, he stopped dead.  
  
"No..." He said aloud, "Is the story really true?"  
  
It was a dragonfly. A black dragonfly, that in the lights of the streetlamps glinted.  
  
"Saito? Is everything okay? C'mon, if we don't hurry, we won't find her."  
  
He swallowed, trying, this once, to believe in miracles.  
  
"I know how to find her. Follow this dragonfly. And trust me." She turned to look at him, as if he were crazy.  
  
"All right, but only because we don't have any other leads."  
  
Around dawn, an inspection of the sky revealed that clouds had covered it, and soon it turned into a heavy downpour. Tokio got up as close as she could to the wall, to avoid getting wet, but since the rood didn't extecnd over very far, she got drenched all over, anyway. Saito and Akina got drenched, too, but the dragonfly was keeping them busy enough so they would never notice.  
  
"I don't think this is going anywhere," Akina said, "We'd better go to the police. Don't you have to leave?" She said the last part irritably.  
  
"I'm going to find Tokio first."  
  
"Nice to know you care enough to pull her out of the rain and THEN leave." His eyes narrowed, Akina's unkind sarcasm getting to him.  
  
"I would never simply leave her. You are too inexperienced to understand."  
  
"Well, she obviously didn't understand it either, your worshipfulness."  
  
"Even she could tell you. But you wouldn't understand. In the moment back at the practice, it was full of emotion. Tokio normally listens to reason, as I'm sure you know."  
  
"As soon as she gets her sight back, she could have anyone, with her looks! She could just leave!" He stopped, facing her.  
  
"I've given her ample opportunity to leave. Why has she not done so, then? Don't talk about what you don't understand!" Her eyes lowered.  
  
"I'm sorry, Saito. I know I don't understand. My inferior sense of judgement just happened to think it was wrong. You leaving her so soon, and all, and-... Saito! What was that?!" She instictively grabbed his arm, and he turned and looked, shaking her hand off.  
  
The dragonfly and the firefly danced in their vision for a minute, the rain letting up slightly. Then, they both sped down the street, and turned into an alley, with unnatural speed. Akina and Saito ran to catch up, Akina lagging slightly behind because of her kimono.  
  
Saito turned into the alley and fell to his knees next to the fallen, huddled figure on the ground, peeling away the wet hair. It was Tokio's face. She was obviously asleep. To his surprise, the two insects flew in front of her eyes, and they blinked open.  
  
The glazed look from her blindness was no longer there. She looked up at him.  
  
"Saito?" She asked quietly, tears forming in her eyes. "I- I can see again..." Now, if you scanned the sky, you would see the clouds breaking up, and the sun rising dimly, beyond the haze of cloud.  
  
He hugged her to him, and both stayed silent for a minute. Akina saw them, and turned away, looking at the dawn's horizon.  
  
"Are you all right, then?" He asked finally, helping her up.  
  
"Yes." She turned to make sure Akina wasn't listening, and looked down, then up at her husband's face. "I'm sorry I acted so unreasonable back at the practice... You must go, because that is what you do. I'll have Akina with me here, and she and I will get through. I'll look for you to come back." He looked down at her, at some miracle that had occured to make her dark eyes see again, and smiled.  
  
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay with you for a few days while you get accustomed to your Grandfather's death? I'm sure my assignment can last without me for a few days."  
  
"No! Of course not! You must go. The world," she said, a little wistfully, as though she wished it could, "does not wait for us to get over our pain. If it did, you wouldn't be leaving. Besides, no matter where you are-."  
  
"You are near me," he finished as she swallowed. "Let's go. I'll see you two home, then I'll be off. Please take it easy for the next few days Tokio, and get that kimono fixed. I'll be back when I get back, of course." He kissed her quickly, and they turned. They walked back to Akina.  
  
As they disappeared from sight, the dragonfly and the firefly dissolved into glowing gold dust, falling gently to the fround, and disappearing completely.  
  
THE END  
  
---- A/N  
  
I'll try to make this quick. This was shorteer than the other chapters, I believe. I originally was going to add more to this chapter, but I thought this would be a good ending. As I said before... I do not own Rurouni Kenshin, and I'm not using this story for any sort of profit, only for your, and my, personal enjoyment.  
  
Thank you everyone who reviewed, and... I guess you'll need to look for another chapter coming up soon! : - ) 


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